Christian leaders talk about Easter, on Easter

By Shaniya Harding

“It was more solemn.” ,“It was more quiet.”, “There was more reverence, commitment and significance.” Those were just some of the sentiments used to describe what Easter was like some 40 or 50 years ago. Easter is widely celebrated at this time of year, and opinions on its traditions over the years differ greatly from person to person.

The story of Easter is a well-known one, but few know it as well as Christian leaders. The Pepperpot Magazine interviewed three local Christian leaders who have seen Easter over a different number of years and shared their different points of view.

Back to basics
There are few who can better speak about the changes the Easter celebrations have seen more than someone who has been a pastor for over 35 years. Pastor Foster Caines has seen Easter unfold in his church, Shekinah Worship Center, located in Goed Fotuin on the West Bank Demarara.

The vivid description of Easter by Pastor Caines sounds more like a dreary village rather than a town celebrating Easter. He spoke of Good Friday as being a day when shops closed, activities ceased and everybody went to church. “ Long ago, you could’ve felt it was Good Friday,” the pastor recalled. However, kite flying was still a big part of Easter in his childhood. He recounted how much he enjoyed kite making, kite flying, and cross buns. He said that previously, the occasion of Easter held more reverence, commitment and significance.

When asked about what Easter means to him, Pastor Caines stated, “Easter, to me, now, is indicative of the new life God has given to us,” he stated. He also believes that Easter has changed a whole lot throughout the years. And although things such as Easter bunnies and Easter eggs existed then, they were not as widely enjoyed as they are today.

Pastor Caines stated that previously, one had to be of a “certain status in society” to enjoy such things as Easter eggs. Going on, he made clear his belief that modern-day traditions have done a lot to obscure Easter and its significance. As pastor Caines spoke fondly of the earlier days of Easter, he wishes persons today would reconnect with the older Easter traditions.

When asked about the religious significance of Easter to him as a pastor, he stated that Easter is not just about Jesus’ resurrection, but it also celebrates his life and sacrifice. “ The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ [are] the capstone of the Christian faith,” he said. Pastor Caines and many other pastors, preachers and apostles in Guyana are planning a day of Atonement. This year it was scheduled to be at the Vreed En Hoop Tarmac at 15:00hrs on April 7 (Good Friday). Pastor Caines described the occasion as an attempt to recapture the religious significance of Easter and what it means: family, fun and Christ’s sacrifiice.

The significance remains
Being in the ministry for more than 15 years and holding the title of Apostle, is Gregory Dubissette. He is the head of Jesus Restoreth Ministries, which has a branch located at Parafait Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara. To him, Easter is simply about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, saying that, “If Jesus hadn’t died, we wouldn’t be celebrating Easter.”

In the present day, and from a Christian perspective, Apostle Dubissette believes that the true meaning of Easter has and always will be the same. “ If I was speaking today or in the 1900s, the message remains the same: Jesus died for us and we celebrate his resurrection,” said the Apostle. Although a spiritual man, Apostle Dubissette too, recounted his childhood Easter days filled with kites and games on Easter Sunday. These same memories lead him to believe that most modern traditions are fine just the way they are.

His opinion on traditions such as Easter eggs, however, differs. He believes that customs like or relating to Easter bunnies are substitutes, trying to distract from Easter’s significance. “If people focus on Easter bunnies, they will take their minds off what Easter is about,” he said. He went on to say that some modern-day celebrations are simply distractions, trying to move something as highly religious as Easter into a ‘secular world.’ As much as these modern customs are known, the church leader firmly holds that they will not completely overshadow the true importance of Easter. He stated that the message is simple: “Jesus came to die for sinners, and my focus will always remain on that.”

Further than ever
A fresh and interesting take on Easter came from Pastor Timothy Squires. At just 30 years old and being an ordained pastor for a little over a year, he gives a very simple view of Easter in Christianity. He defines Easter as “the holy week”. To Pastor Squires, Easter is more than just Easter Sunday; but rather begins on Palm Sunday the previous week and includes Good Friday.

He stated that people walk with the leaves of palm trees upright to remember how people threw palms on the ground for Jesus to walk on. Although now, as a religious leader, he understands the significance of Easter, he admits that Easter was simply about the kites and fun as a child. But as he grew older, he now understands the true meaning of Easter. He said that, as a child, “The only thing at the back of my head was that ‘Easter is coming and I need a kite’,” he recalled, “But as I grew in God, in the faith, I understand what Easter is all about.”

When asked about the changes in Easter celebrations, he admitted that Easter has changed over the years. But how he describes these changes may not be what you expect. Pastor Timothy believes that the difference lies in that, today, the gospel of Easter reaches further than ever. Additionally, he believes that modern traditions take nothing away from the religious value of Easter to Christianity. “All that matters is that the true meaning of Easter is known, understood and celebrated,” he explained. Pastor Squires’s message from Easter that he applies to the real world is simply love.

All these opinions and thoughts vary in some way or another, but some ideas remain the same. They can all agree on what Easter is ideally about. It celebrates the sacrifice made by Jesus some 2000 years ago. How this sacrifice is celebrated has shifted over the centuries and changes from one generation to the next.

And although ideas may differ, change and might never be the same, the world celebrates Easter together. This time is about reuniting and re-establishing the privileged relationship mankind has enjoyed with God.